1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to surgical instruments, and more particularly, to a surgical apparatus capable of clamping body tissue and applying a wound treatment material thereto.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surgical procedures requiring cutting of tissue can result in bleeding at the site of the cutting. Various techniques have been developed to successfully control bleeding, such as, for example, suturing, applying clips to blood vessels, and using surgical fasteners, as well as electrocautery and other tissue heating techniques.
Surgical devices using surgical fasteners entail grasping or clamping tissue between opposing jaw structure and then joining the tissue by employing the surgical fasteners. These devices are well known in the art. In some instruments a knife is provided to cut the tissue which has been joined by the fasteners. The fasteners are typically in the form of surgical staples however, two part polymeric fasteners are also utilized.
Instruments for this purpose can comprise two elongated members which are respectively used to capture or clamp tissue. Typically, one of the members carries a cartridge which houses a plurality of fasteners arranged in at least two lateral rows while the other member comprises an anvil which defines a surface for forming the fastener legs as the fasteners are driven from the cartridge. Where two part fasteners are used, the anvil carries the mating part, e.g. the receiver, of the fasteners which are driven from the cartridge. Generally, the stapling operation is effected by a pusher which travels longitudinally through the cartridge carrying member, with the pusher acting upon the staples to sequentially eject them from the cartridge. A knife may travel with the pusher between the staple rows to longitudinally cut (i.e., form a knife cut line) the stapled tissue between the rows of staples. Such instruments are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,079,606 and 3,490,675, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A later stapler disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,499,591 provides a double row of staples on each side of the incision or the knife cut line. This is accomplished by providing a cartridge assembly in which a cam member moves through an elongate guide path between two sets of staggered staple carrying grooves. Staple drive members are located within the grooves and are positioned in such a manner so as to be contacted by the longitudinally moving cam to effect ejection of the staples. Other examples of staplers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,429,695, 5,065,929, and 5,156,614, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Electrocautery devices are preferred in certain surgical procedures for effecting improved hemostasis by heating tissue and blood vessels using thermogenic energy, preferably radiofrequency energy, to cause coagulation or cauterization. Monopolar devices utilize one electrode associated with a cutting or cauterizing instrument and a remote return electrode, usually adhered externally to the patient. Bipolar instruments utilize two electrodes and the cauterizing current is generally limited to tissue between the two electrodes of a tissue treating portion (e.g., end effector) of an instrument.
Hemostatic electrosurgical stapling devices combining the structural and functional aspects of stapling instruments and electrocautery devices generally provide improved hemostasis by using thermogenic energy to cause coagulation or cauterization at or in proximity to the knife cut line and surgical fasteners to staple the tissue, either before, during or after the use of thermogenic energy.
Even though stapling, electrocauterizing or a combination of both techniques are generally well suited to control bleeding along the knife cut line, other techniques are envisioned for being used to control bleeding during surgical procedures.
Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a surgical apparatus for providing hemostasis, tissue joining or welding which does not use conventional techniques.